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Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai shortly after his re-election in November 2009 - Source: Reuters -
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Afghanistan's Taliban rejected President Hamid Karzai's latest
attempt to reach out to them as futile and farcical, but said they
were open to talks to achieve their goal of an Islamic state.
"This is not the first time that the Kabul regime and the invading
countries want to throw dust into the eyes of the public of the
world by announcing reconciliation in words and, in practice, make
preparation for war," said a statement posted in English on the
Afghan Taliban's website, alemarah.info.
"Similarly, they put forward conditions, which are tantamount to
escalating the war rather than ending it. For example, they want
Mujahideen to lay down arms, accept the constitution and renounce
violence. None can name this reconciliation," it said.
Karzai used a conference in London last month to repeat a call for
reconciliation with his disenchanted brothers in the Taliban.
He has since travelled to Saudi Arabia to ask its leaders for
help reaching out to the militants.
At the conference, Western governments approved language in a
communiqué that said Afghans who disavow violence and accept
the constitution should be accepted in the political process,
signalling support for Karzai's outreach bid.
But the Taliban statement rejected Western support for Karzai's
reconciliation efforts as an eyewash designed to convince anti-war
voters in the West their leaders want peace, even as they prepare
for a new offensive in Helmand province.
The Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, but are leading an
insurgency that has grown stronger in recent years.
NATO commanders say they hope to turn the tide on the
battlefield this year to persuade fighters to lay down their
arms.
The Taliban statement described Karzai's conditions as a call to
surrender which was futile because the fighters influence was
spreading.
It listed goals including complete independence and the
establishment of an Islamic system, adding: "Our first priority is
to achieve these goals through talks and negotiation."
"But if the invading powers in Afghanistan are not ready to give
the Afghans their natural rights ... then the Mujahideen of the
Islamic Emirate are determined to carry on the fight until the
realisation of the said goals," it said.
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